Evening Standard letter: We must take bold and practical action to reduce diesel emissions

The Policy Exchange/King’s College London report into the capital’s air pollution problem shows how critical this issue has become for every Londoner - young or old, rich or poor.

There are many plans to reduce emissions in the coming years, but it is clear that we must now take bold and practical action to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles in the short term.

We are calling for emission tests to be included in MOTs and a review of the Vehicle Excise Duty, which encourages people to drive diesel cars rather than petrol. In addition more needs to be done to assist the transition to hybrid and zero emission vehicles, particularly for taxis.